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What Kids Want for Christmas

This year children are asking Santa to give mom and dad a job.

As a staff at Northern Hills, instead of giving each other a Christmas gift, we pool our funds and buy Christmas gifts for some children in the Brighton Head Start program. This year we bought gifts for 44 children. No one asked for a job for their parents, but the requests were very interesting.

On Tuesday the entire staff headed to Walmart on a mission to fulfill the wishes of several 4 year old children. Each staff person was given 2-3 cards with the child's first name and the desired gift. It is interesting what some children want. I had the opportunity to buy gifts for two little boys. One wanted Spider-Man. That was not too tough, in fact I found a Spider-Man on a motorcycle. My second little guy asked for something that was much harder to find, Spike the Dinosaur. I did not even know what that was. I did not find anything that said Spike the Dinosaur. (I have since seen Spike). I did find a dinosaur that looked fierce, made noise and moved. It had spikes too, so I hope that it is a nice gift.

Here are some of the other things the kids asked for in their own words:

• Dragon ship with people in it
• A king (Not sure why a 4 year old wants a king, but...)
• A mop and broom (Does this little girl know how to have fun or what?)
• Any and everything Hannah Montana (I am more of a Joe Montana kind of guy)
• Train track
• Batman
• Baby Alive
• Robot
• Tea Part Set
• Barbie
• Horses or Movies of Horses (Flicka Flick Fan For Sure)
• The Hulk
• Big Bumble Bee
• Princess Crown
• A motorcycle (this kid got a 4 pack!)
• Transformer
• Braatz Doll (Not sure what this is)
• Big Car
• Dress Up

The Mark of a Real Man?

Who knew it was that simple to be a real man. Yikes!

Just When I Start to Feel OK with Dancing in Church...

Dodger Fans Can't Catch!

Tips on Tipping

Too often tipping is poorly done. I am beginning a 3-4 minute quest to fix that.

I have learned certain things in life through nothing more than observation. For example:

• When it comes to those who walk their dog, big people have small dogs and small people have big dogs.
• Men between the ages of 45-60 only wash their hands 58.4% of the time after using the restroom.
• In Student Ministry, the kid you scholarship to camp will buy $38.43 worth of candy, chips and soda at the first stop for fuel.
• Most pastors are poor tippers.

In fact, when a bunch of pastors get together and everyone throws in "their amount" to cover the bill it often goes like this. "Let's see, my super deluxe special Norwegian sandwich with chips and a side of slaw was $8.99, the drink is $2.00 ... here's a $10!"

Seriously, this happens. I was in a group of about 12 pastors one time for lunch and the person paying the bill ended up eating a $28 salad. I am not bitter however.

Maybe it speaks to my insecurities, but I believe in leaving a good tip. Here are some guidelines to make sure that you do not trip on the tip:

• Start at 18% when you are seated. If the service rocks take the tip up to 20-22%. If the service is poor take it down to 10-15%. However don't penalize the server for something that they cannot control. If the service is decent and what you would expect, leave it at 18%.
• If you have young children tip that make a mess and require greater attention be extra generous with the tip.
• NEVER EVER PLACE A DOLLAR BILL IN ONE OF THOSE GOSPEL TRACKS THAT SAYS "JESUS -THE BEST TIP YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED". If you do this, please tell people you are a Mormon or Jehovah Witness.
• If you are at a busy restaurant and you occupy the table for an unusually long period of time, tip more.
• Coupons and gift certificates are great, but tip on the full amount of the bill.
• Every once in a while lovingly blitz a good server with a huge tip. Make their day!

My Plant Lives

The plant that my mother-in-law gave me a couple of years ago was in bad shape.

But, thanks to Donna, it is now looking good! My mother-in-law will be so happy!

Plant I.C.U.

I am not a big fan of plants. Oh, I like them out in nature, just not in every corner of my home. To me I think of plants like I think of cats. Plant them outside and water them once in a while.

Knowing that I am not a big on plants, my mother-in-law gave me a plant a couple of years ago(as a joke) in a pretty cool "golf ball" planter. She was sure that it would be dead within a few weeks. I was determined to keep it alive and my dear little plant has survived quite well and even thrived at times.

My little plant surviving all this time has been somewhat surprising, considering that I usually forget to water the thing. I am reminded to give it some attention and that it is thirsty once the leaves turn brown. This happens about every three weeks. I will then throw in some water or  leftover  coffee, tea or soda. I think it craves Diet  Pepsi. 

Before leaving to Maui I had not watered my plant for a couple of weeks. The poor little guy received no water while I was gone. In other words, it was water deprived for about 5 weeks. Oops. My mother-in-law will be very disappointed.

However all is not lost. A Master Gardener was in my office yesterday and I pleaded for help. (Actually as she was leaving my office I looked at my plant and asked her what she thought). I assumed that the prognosis was bleak, but my favorite master Gardener pointed to some new growth and thought it could be saved with some TLC, new dirt, and of course a good drink.

I was informed that the plant is in Intensive Care and not out of the woods, but there is hope. I will keep you posted.

It is nice to have friends who know what to do... when you do not.

24...The Card Game!

The Kelly's are big fans of 24. My daughter Bethany created  24... the card game.

I knew all the money we're paying for college was worth it!

Elf Gift

My dear friend Donna hooked Carol Ann and I up for the holidays. Have a look.

Who says I can't dance?

Coolest Kid Ever!

His name is Christian and this was his costume for Halloween.(You will need to click on the pictures for the full effect). 

Seriously, this  kid is one of the smartest kids I have ever met. No doubt he aims high and has great aspirations - don't you think?